End-rest assembly



United States Patent 3,160,050 END-REST ASSEMBLY Markus Klein, 1030 King Ave, Pittsburgh 6, Pa. Filed Nov. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 235,719 4 Claims. (Q1. 84-327) This invention relates to the art of musical instruments and has particular relationship to rests or supports for instruments which are held on the floor by the player as they are played. Typical of such instruments are the Violoncello and the bass viol. In such instruments a rod extends from the bottom of the instrument body and serves as support for the instrument. In playing a Violoncello the rod is held at a small angle to the vertical; for a bass viol the rod is vertical. In both cases substantial pressure is exerted at the end of the rod both by the weight of the instrument and by the player.

To achieve high-quality performance it is essential that the rod and the instrument from which it extends remain fixed and it is an object of this invention to provide a rest assembly for a floor-held instrument with which this object shall be achieved. In a typical rest assembly provided in accordance with the teachings of the prior art vacuum cups are provided in the base to prevent movement of the rest and the instrument resting therein. But these have proved unsuccessful because of the difficulties in setting and holding the base so that the cups perform their suction function. In addition, many of the floor surfaces encountered do not lend themselves to cooperate with suction cups.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a restassembly for a musical instrument, such as a Violoncello or bass viol or the like, which assembly shall include positive means for holding the instrument resting in the assembly firmly. It is a specific object of this invention to provide such an assembly for holding firmly such an instrument as a Violoncello which is held at a small angle to the vertical. It is a further specific object of this invention to provide such an assembly for an instrument like a bass viol which is held vertically.

In accordance with a specific aspect of this invention, an assembly is provided which includes a base of extended area and of high coeflicient of friction to engage the floor on which the instrument is to be held. This assembly also includes a guide for the rod extending from the instruments which terminates in a support for the lower end of the rod. One of the important features of this invention is that the pressure exerted by this lower end is not concentrated, but is distributed over the whole extended area of the base so that the frictional force exerted by the base is high and suppresses any movement of the assembly. The material of the base is sponge rubber or felt or the like and this material has a high coeflicient of friction for nearly all, if not all, floor materials.

The novel features considered characteristic of this invention are discussed generally above. For a better understanding of this invention, both as to its organization and as to its method of operation, together with additional objects thereof, reference is made to the following description of specific embodiments taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in section showing the manner in which this invention is used with an instrument held at a small angle to the vertical;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of rod-supporting cap for a vertically held instrument; and

3,100,050 Patented Dec. 8, 1964 FIG. 5 is a sectional view of rod-supporting cap for an instrument held at an angle.

The instrument which rests in the rest-assembly 8 according to this invention is a Violoncello or bass viol 10 from the bottom of which a rod 12 extends. The rod has grooves 13 and is slidable into the body of the instrument 10 for adjusting the height of the instrument to suit the player. A lock 15 is provided for lockingthe rod at any desired groove 13.

The rest assembly 8 includes a block of resilient material such as rubber of generally T section having a stem 20 and a flange 22. The block includes an opening 24 which flares outwardly in the stem and forms a reentrant rim 26 in the flange 22. The tapering produces a thin neck 28 between the flange 22 and the stem 20. This neck 28 permits the block to bend when the rest supports an instrument played at an angle (see FIG. 3).

The rest also includes a small cup 30 of a metal such as brass or coated steel. The cup has a flanged rim. The flange 32 is of larger diameter than the reentrant opening in the flange of the block. The difference in diameters is such that the cup 30 can be forced into the reentrant opening and held firmly by the adjacent rubber rim 28. The thickness of the flange 22 in the block is such that when the cup 30 is inserted in the flange 22, its base is flush with the bottom surface of the block (FIG. 2).

Within the cup 30 there is a washer of a hard material such as hard rubber. The washer 40 in rest assemblies for vertically held instruments tapers upwardly to the opening 42 (FIG. 4). The washer 4-4 in assemblies 8 for instruments held at an angle is flat. The washer 40 has about twice the thickness of washer 44.

The assembly also includes a solid plate or disc 46 of a relatively hard material such as plastic or a phenolic condensation product or metal. The plate 46 is of extended area and has secured thereto a plate or disc 48 of a highly frictional material such as sponge rubber of felt and also of extended area. The plate is secured preferably by cement to the bottom of the flange 22 and preferably also to the base of the cup 30. The disc 48 serves as a frictional base for the rest assembly and the disc 46 serves to distribute the pressure from the rod over the frictional base.

In the use of the assembly, the rod 12 is inserted in the opening 24- in the block and rests in the opening in the washer 40 or 44. The tip 60 of the rod 12 for the vertically-held instruments engages and rests against the rim of the washer 40; the tip 62 for inclined instruments rests in the base of the cup 30. If the instrument is held at an angle, the block flexes at the neck 28 but the rod 12 remains in the opening in the washer 44. Since the washer 44 is flat, the rod 12 does not pry the washer from the cup 30. In the case of a vertically-held instrument the rod rests on the rim of the tapered part of the washer.

I In both cases the disc or plate 46 distributes the pressure from the rod 12 throughout the base 48 and the rest assembly, rod and instrument remain fixed firmly.

This invention has been disclosed herein as applied to an instrument such as a Violoncello or a bass viol and in its specific aspects it has important advantages in such application. In its broader aspects this invention is applicable to such instruments as drums. When used with drums more than one assembly of the type disclosed herein may be used. In addition the base should be composed of a less resilient material than sponge rubber such as sheet rubber.

While preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed herein, many modifications thereof are feasible. This invention then is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the spirit of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. An end-rest assembly for a musical instrument, such as a Violoncello or a bass viol or the like, of the type which is held on the floor adjacent the player and from the lower end of which a rod for supporting said instrument extends, said assembly comprising a block of a flexible material such as rubber or the like having a generally longitudinal opening therein for guiding said rod, a cup of a hard material, an opening therein for supporting the lower end of said rod, said guiding opening having a terminus formed to receive said cup in resilient locking relationship to hold said cup with its base flush with the bottom of said block, a plate of relatively hard material and of extended area secured to said block in pressure receiving and distributing engagement with said base of said cup, and a base of relatively soft material having a high coefficient of friction and having an area generally coextensive with said plate secured to said plate, said base being in frictional engagement with said floor when said instrument is being played resting in said assembly.

2. The end-rest assembly of claim 1 characterized by a cup of a hard material such as metal having therein a washer of a hard material such as hard rubber with an opening therein for supporting the lower end of the rod.

3. The end-rest assembly of claim 1 particularly for a musical instrument, such as a Violoncello of the type that is held on the floor adjacent the player at an angle to the floor characterized by a cup of a hard material such as metalhaving therein a flat washer of a hard material such as hard rubber with an opening in the washer for supporting the lower end of the rod.

4. The end-rest assembly of claim 1 particularly for a musical instrument, such as a bass viol or the like, of the type which is held vertically on the fioor adjacent the player characterized by a cup of a hard material such as metal having therein a washer of a hard material such as hard rubber with an opening therein for supporting the lower end of said rod, the washer being tapered upwardly towards the last-named opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,447,080 8/48 Meier 84280 2,974,556 3/61 Fawick 84327 X FOREIGN PATENTS 473,853 10/14 France.

632,958 10/27 France.

488,644 1/30 Germany.

586,397 10/33 Germany.

178,33 6 4/ 22 Great Britain.

LEYLAND M. MARTIN, Primary Examiner.

LEO SMILOW, Examiner. 

1. AN END-REST ASSEMBLY FOR A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, SUCH AS A VIOLONCELLO OR A BASS VIOL OR THE LIKE, OF THE TYPE WHICH IS HELD ON THE FLOOR ADJACENT THE PLAYER AND FROM THE LOWER END OF WHICH A ROD FOR SUPPORTING SAID INSTRUMENT EXTENDS, SAID ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A BLOCK OF A FLEXIBLE MATERIAL SUCH AS RUBBER OR THE LIKE HAVING A GENERALLY LONGITUDINAL OPENING THEREIN FOR GUIDING SAID ROD, A CUP OF A HARD MATERIAL, AN OPENING THEREIN FOR SUPPORTING THE LOWER END OF SAID ROD, SAID GUIDING OPENING HAVING A TERMINUS FORMED TO RECEIVE SAID CUP IN RESILIENT LOCKING RELATIONSHIP TO HOLD SAID CUP WITH ITS BASE FLUSH WITH THE BOTTOM OF SAID BLOCK, A PLATE OF RELATIVELY HARD MATERIAL AND OF EXTENDED AREA SECURED TO SAID BLOCK IN PRESSURE RECEIVING AND DISTRIBUTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BASE OF SAID CUP, AND A BASE OF RELATIVELY SOFT MATERIAL HAVING A HIGH COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION AND HAVING AN AREA GENERALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID PLATE SECURED TO SAID PLATE, SAID BASE BEING IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FLOOR WHEN SAID INSTRUMENT IS BEING PLAYED RESTING IN SAID ASSEMBLY. 